24. Ethan

I was tooanxious even to chop wood while I waited for Lia to get back from her appointment with Dr. Sanchez, so I decided it was finally time to take her advice and set up the Wi-Fi in my cabin. She's been doing some work from bed using a hotspot for internet access, and if I'm serious about keeping her here with me, I need to make sure she feels fully welcome. She's been at my place for weeks, but if it were up to me she'd stay forever.

Plus, she keeps insisting I need to check my email.

So … I do. And what I find in there has me holding my breath.

Dear Mr. Bedd:

On behalf of the grant committee from the New York State Department of Agriculture, it is my pleasure to inform you that your business, Bedd Fellows Farm, has successfully obtained our community and sustainable agriculture grant funding.

I stop reading and jump out of my chair, letting out a loud whoop, and immediately sprint up to the big house. "Gran! Colleen! We got it!"

Gran pokes her head around the corner from her chair in the living room, where she's got a big pile of knitting on her lap. Colleen, half asleep on the couch reading a book with a naked man on the cover, raises a brow.

"What did you get, dear?" Gran keeps knitting, her needles clacking a steady rhythm along with my heartbeat.

"The grant! We got the MONEY." I scoop Gran out of her seat and spin her around a few times as she protests. I set her down and smack a kiss on her forehead. "Lia did it!"

"What did I do?" Lia's voice comes through the kitchen right behind me and I turn to see her standing there with Asher, both looking pleased.

I point toward the sky, where I can only assume the internet lives. "I got an email. We got the grant, Lia!"

Colleen sits up and gently tucks a bookmark into her novel before setting it on the table. "What's everyone doing here? Can someone elaborate?"

Asher's deep voice booms above everyone's head as he says, "Lia sorted out her meds. She can stay here in Fork Lick if she wants."

"Get out the Old Crow," Gran shouts, clapping her hands. "Call your brothers. I'm happy as a cow in clover, Ethan."

The thought of Grandad's whiskey sours my stomach, but I'm not going to be the one to rain on the celebration. Colleen points at me and says, "I think Ethan should be the one to call Alex and Samuel with this news. Ethan, weren't you calling them for strawberry pointers anyway?"

I scratch at the back of my neck. Between the storm and Lia at my house and cleaning up from Baabara's mini-feast I haven't taken the time to patch things up with my brothers yet. Colleen frowns at me and starts tapping away at her phone. "Fine. I'll text them. But this isn't the end of things, Ethan. You've still got work to do."

"Yes, I know. I know. Ash, will you stay for a drink?" I reach past my grandmother, who is stretching to pull down glasses for all of us. She hasn't yet commented on the depleted stash of whiskey in the once-full bottle.

"Thank you, Ethan, dear. Oh, someone needs to tell Molly she's got a job. She's gotta drive here from…West Virginia I think."

Asher wrinkles his nose. "Who is Molly?"

Lia eyes me intently as I explain that she's a part-time hire to help set up and run sales during the strawberry harvest. "She's got retail experience. And she's good with people," I add, which has Asher nodding in understanding. He and I both hate crowds and all the noise that comes with them. "That reminds me, Ash, we're going to have a lot of people coming in and out of the property in about a month. Sorry for all the extra traffic that will bring."

He waves a hand. "I've got my office insulated. And you know I have security cameras." He accepts the glass of whiskey from Gran and sniffs it, recoiling at the smell of the strong, cheap alcohol. I dash outside and back to my house to grab my phone and send Molly a message. Colleen had to teach both me and Gran how to use this new-fangled app for vanlifers, which I didn't even know was a word, nevermind something people did.

I trot back to the house, sparing a moment to flip Baabara the bird as she munches hay in her front yard. Alex arrives as I reach the porch steps and I wait for him to get out of the truck with his dog.

"Hey." He tips a chin at me.

"Hey." I sigh. "Maybe I can buy you dinner someday soon. Talk to you about some things?"

He shrugs. "I hear there's some good news. I can always eat."

We walk into the kitchen to find Asher drumming his hands on the table as Colleen balances a spoon on the tip of her nose. Gran applauds the ridiculous stunt and Alex slides into the seat beside her, plucking the spoon from her face as everyone else groans.

"Sam can't get away in the middle of the day, he says to tell you. Should we get this show on the road?"

Gran takes her place by the stove and looks around her kitchen, overflowing with noise and loved ones. She places a hand on her chest. "It's no secret things have been hard around here." She wipes at a tear in her eye. "I had no idea Eugene was leaving things in such disarray … but I'm grateful you've all played a part in helping turn this drought into a harvest." Gran lifts her glass of whiskey, we all follow suit. "To the Bedd Fellows Farm family," she says, and we all echo those words before slamming back our drinks.

The room erupts in coughs and sputters as the burning liquid scalds throats all around. I glance at Lia, who hasn't drunk hers. If she can't even handle raw vegetables right now, there's no way this whiskey will feel good in her belly. I shake my head as she stares at the glass and she nods, setting her still-full cup on the counter.

A few minutes later, we manage to sneak away as Asher starts arguing with Gran about something called TikTok and Alex scowls at both of them.

Back at my cabin, I long to ask Lia what Asher meant about her being able to stay in Fork Lick. I long to know what the doctor said. Most of all, I want to know if she's still spoken for or if it's okay for me to respond to the lust threatening to tear me in half. "You had a big day, it sounds like."

She nods, licking her lip nervously. I stare at her tongue as it sweeps across the seam of her mouth. "So much is going to change, Ethan." I clench at her words, willing myself to be patient as she gathers her thoughts. "I cut ties with Richard. Medically and otherwise."

My eyes must convey the barely contained lust inside me at the thought of Lia being free, Lia being fair game for me to woo. I take a step toward her and let my fingers trail across her jaw, smooth bath her hair, and stare into her dark eyes. "Oh yeah?"

She nods. "And I'm changing my meds. It might be a rocky process for a few weeks … but then I should be able to do so much more."

"Like what?" I step closer still, letting a hand cradle her hip, feeling the small movements in her body as she inhales and exhales.

Lia swallows and I watch her throat. I could watch her endlessly. "Like, stay awake for 12 hours at a time." Lia giggles and rests a hand on my chest.

Breathing through my nose, I catch her scent. It fills my house like it belongs here, like Lia is permeating the atmosphere where I live. "What do you want to do with all that awake time?" I need her to be clear with me. I need Lia to make the next move.

She doesn't answer me with words, stretching up on her toes instead to plant a kiss on my cheek, just past the corner of my lip. With that invitation, I dive into her mouth with mine, thrusting my tongue between her lips, tracing her teeth, moaning at the pleasure of feeling her pressed against me.

Her breasts are small and firm against my stomach, her hands clutching at my flannel shirt as she tries to pull me closer, closer. Still holding her by the hip, I pull her against my hardness, letting her feel how much I want her. She gasps, breaking our kiss to look into my eyes.

"Ethan." Her word is a request and a demand. I tug her against me, both arms on her hips, rubbing her against me until I'm greedy and desperate. Lia shoves me backwards and we frog march toward my bedroom, lips busy sipping each other's skin.

I've been missing this woman for over ten years, and when she finally shoves me back against the mattress, I'm falling physically and emotionally, right over the edge and into the soft bedding as she straddles my hips. "Ethan, I want you so much."

"I—you—gorgeous."

Lia whips her shirt off her head, revealing the soft curve of her belly and creamy breasts straining at the white cotton bra she quickly casts aside as well.

"So beautiful." I barely get the words out before my mouth is on one nipple. I lick and suck the rosy peak, a much better celebration taste than the drink of fire water.

Lia's head rocks back and her face softens in pleasure as I alternate my attention on each side, kissing and smoothing and petting. She slides a hand up my shirt, her palm skating along my stomach, scalding my skin with wanting. I wrestle out of my shirt and hold her against me, our bare skin connecting at last.

My hips jut up from the bed against Lia, desperate for friction and pressure and she moans, moving with me. Until she freezes.

"Oh. Oh, no. No, no, no." Lia rolls off me and curls into a ball, clutching at her stomach.

"What's wrong?" I smooth back her hair, concerned as she winces, clenching against pain.

Eyes squeezed shut, Lia shakes her head. "I hate this."

I splay a palm across her stomach. "Does this hurt?" Lia nods and I withdraw. "What can I do? How can I help?" I need her to know I'm not afraid of this, not going anywhere. I reach for the comforter and tuck it around her, then pull her onto my lap, cradling her in my arms as Lia begins to weep.

"I'm here, Lia. You've got me."

Her breath is ragged and she purses her lips, eyes closed as she breathes through spasms. "Can you give me a few minutes?" She scrambles from my arms and darts for the bathroom.

I head to the kitchen to get her some ice water and a ginger ale from the fridge. I wait for her in the bedroom and open my arms when she returns, crawling into my embrace. I hold her until she falls asleep, watching her rest in my arms, in awe that she's real and here and mine after so much time.

Eventually I slip from the bed to work on the computer. I figure if Lia can face her demons, I can tackle some electronic paperwork for the farm. I'm grateful that Molly is on her way, glad that I can at least get a few small things off my plate when she gets here, even if it's just farmstand stuff.

Lia's phone starts chirping. I turn off the sound, not wanting to wake her.

A few hours pass and I hear movement from my room. I smile as Lia pads into the kitchen, wrapped in my flannel shirt. I love how she looks in my clothes, how the sleeves are cuffed, the hem hangs nearly to her knees. I know I have all the time in the world to strip her out of it. I'm a patient man.

Lia greets me with a soft kiss on the lips. "Hey, you."

"Feeling better?" I pull her onto my lap, not caring that the small chair creaks under our combined weight. I tuck her under my chin and wrap both arms around her.